


The Happiest Sound of Them All

by ink_inEden



Series: Mamma Marauders! [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dancing and Singing, Family Issues, Fluff, Hogwarts, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Oblivious Remus Lupin, Pre-Relationship, Sirius Black & Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Sirius Black Needs a Hug, or an ABBA song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2019-08-30
Packaged: 2020-09-30 20:00:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20452742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ink_inEden/pseuds/ink_inEden
Summary: “Black!” Lily exclaimed when she climbed through the portrait hole into the deserted common room. “Fuck your brother, we’re listening to ABBA.”Or the day the Marauders got introduced to ABBA





	The Happiest Sound of Them All

**Author's Note:**

> As promised, here is the continuation of the ABBA x Marauders-series! :)  
  
This story takes place before [The World Stood Still](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19241224) and will remain the first part in the chronology of the series. It's not necessary to read one story to understand the other one.
> 
> The song used in this story is "Ring Ring" from ABBA's first album of the same name and the girls' outfits are references to actual clothes that the members of ABBA wore in the early stages of their career.
> 
> **Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the world depicted in this story. They belong to J. K. Rowling. Same goes for the song lyrics, which belong to ABBA.**

//

It all started with Lily Evans of all people introducing Sirius to ABBA. Or maybe it all started with Sirius’ family, Remus guessed, because Sirius was always utterly incapable of articulating his feelings but had been mopey for the past three days.

The Marauders had tried, of course. Tried to get him to speak, tried to cheer him up, tried to distract him. They had resorted to pranks, sweets, cuddles, coaxing, coercion, scuffles – nothing had worked. Sirius had just blinked at them with disturbingly lifeless eyes and pressed his lips so hard together that they turned as pale as his skin after a summer at 12 Grimmauld Place.

By the fourth day, Peter made sure that at least one other person separated him from Sirius in order to avoid any more snappy comments thrown his way. James started to blather about everything and nothing in hopes of eliciting a rare positive response from Sirius and reaching a state of normalcy by _pretending _everything was normal.

Remus did neither of those things – Remus watched and waited. He hovered close by, always alert to that one moment when Sirius’ emotions suddenly spilled over. In those moments, Remus would lock Sirius’ body in a death grip while he kicked and screamed or burst into tears and crumbled in Remus’ arms.

As much as all four of them loved their friend, the situation was draining and Remus couldn’t help but prefer the usual craziness. It was easier to talk Sirius down from a high and risk being “a spoilsport” than it was to get through to him when he was in that disconnected state of mind.

Surprisingly, it was Lily, too, who finally raised the veil.

“Black!” She exclaimed when she climbed through the portrait hole into the deserted common room. “Fuck your brother, we’re listening to ABBA.”

Sirius, who had been sitting in a defeated and slumped down position on the sofa in front of the fire for the past hour, immediately straightened his spine and whipped around furiously. Everyone still brave enough to be in Sirius’ presence these days – namely the Marauders, Marlene and Alice – held their breath. Remus quickly put a hand on Sirius’ upper leg.

_We should’ve known_, he thought.

No matter how much anger or dismissal Sirius managed to muster up for his family home on most days, he always, always, _always_ loved his little brother fiercely. To this day, the other Marauders didn’t know much about their childhood relationship, but from the way that Sirius held on to it, it was clear that before James and Remus and Peter there had been Regulus, with whom Sirius had shared secrets and hid in the dark.

However, when Sirius left for Hogwarts, all of that closeness between the two brothers was slowly but surely crushed. Destroyed by their parents, who wanted to punish their older son for breaking with family traditions and prevent their younger one from following in his footsteps. Still, Sirius had firmly believed that they could reconcile once they were no longer under the watchful eye of Walburga and Orion Black. He had cried like a baby when he finally realised that all his hopeful advances to mend their relationship within the safety of Hogwarts were completely one-sided.

Because when Regulus had arrived two years ago, he showed no interest in being associated with his Gryffindor brother. Instead, he avoided him like the plague, ratted him out to their parents at every turn and, in one final blow, joined people like Snape and Lucius Malfoy in their cruel pranks against “mudbloods” and “blood traitors”.

By the end of Regulus’ first year, they had found Sirius curled up under his blanket in a tight ball, drenched in blistering potion and shaking violently with every sob. He didn’t even seem to feel the pain on his skin, because his heart was hurting so badly. Remus had only ever witnessed him in a state like this once before, during their second year, when Sirius had snuck into the hospital wing and saw Remus all torn up from the last full moon.

_We should have known._

Remus mustered his friend, trying to gauge his mood. Beside the fury, there was something else on Sirius’ face. Sadness, of course, but also confusion…and a slight trace of curiosity. He looked like he was actually _attentive._

“Come on.” Carefully, Lily came closer until she was standing right in front of them and offered Sirius a hand. “I can’t deal with your sad puppy eyes any longer.”

Remus snorted a little under his breath while James smirked. _If she only knew._

Sirius gave them all the evil eye and crossed his arms, his chin raised stubbornly. “What’s it to you?”

Lily rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as well. “Don’t act denser than you are. I have a sibling, too, you know? And you and I, we’re…we’re not enemies, okay? I care.” She bit her lip, contemplating her next words. “I heard from Severus what happened.”

Sirius wrinkled his nose in disgust and Remus increased the pressure on his leg. For once, Lily did not defend her friend. Remus assumed that Snape had probably not told her out of concern but spitefulness and she was well aware of that.

Eventually, Lily’s face relaxed into a kind smile. “So I have an idea.”

She squeezed herself in between Sirius and James, startling the latter so much that he tumbled of the sofa with a very unmanly shriek. Even Sirius’ mouth twitched at that.

“Get the record for me, please?” Lily addressed Marlene and Alice who immediately jumped to their feet with delighted grins and ran up to the girls’ dormitory.

“And you…” Lily finally turned her attention to James’ tomato-coloured face on the floor. “And you and you…” Lily’s gaze snapped from James to Peter to Remus with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. “Get me the most colourful, extravagant and outrageous clothes and accessories you have stashed up there.”

James immediately jumped to his feet and saluted with an excited grin. Peter looked rather confused and sceptical but followed him up the stairs anyway. When Remus moved to get up as well, Sirius quickly grabbed his hand. He looked almost scared. It was kind of cute.

Lily threw her arm around Sirius and shooed Remus away. “We’re gonna have a party, Black. Let the peasants do the work.”

Remus smirked and hurried after James and Peter. Their room – never really clean to begin with – had already turned into a safety hazard. Remus leaned against the doorframe, catching the flower crown thrown his way. “What’ve we got lads?”

“Well, Quidditch stuff, obviously.” James informed him with goggles on his head and fingerless gloves on his hands, while taking down the elaborate brocade curtain from his bed and draping it around himself like a toga. “The lovesick mistletoe crown on your head from last Christmas.”

Alarmed, Remus reached for it. James chuckled. “Don’t worry, the spell has worn off.”

Peter emerged from under his bed and pulled on his wellies, permanently tinged in a screaming turquoise due to an unfortunate encounter with a furious merman. He was already sporting the hideous white fur coat – that he normally deemed “too girly” to wear – with his tie repurposed as a waist-accentuating belt and an eyepatch strapped across his face.

“Take these, Moony!”

Remus raised his arms, just in time before he could be smacked across the face from several sides. He picked up a pair of multi-coloured leggings which were a leftover from James and Sirius’ short-lived rock band, the pink swimming trunks with red hearts that Lily had brought back as a “gift” for James from her summer holiday in Greece and the jumper which Hagrid had knitted for them and which was so wide that three of them fitted inside.

He stripped out of his normal clothes and quickly pulled on his choices. As expected, the jumper only reached down to his bellybutton because Hagrid had run out of wool, so Remus hiked up the swimming trunks some more. The leggings were a little short around his ankles, too, so he carefully waded through the mess on their floor and grabbed his favourite fluffy socks from his bed.

He could hear chattering coming from the common room, indicating that Alice and Marlene had returned from their mission. A few seconds later an upbeat melody started playing.

“I found tinsels!” Peter exclaimed suddenly, momentarily distracting Remus.

“Oh, that’s perfect!” James hopped over to the next bed to inspect Peter’s findings. He looked a bit like an over-excited flying poodle, since he had thrown on a jacket that Remus could only described as a dust mop and that he had absolutely no clue as to why it existed in their room in the first place.

Rather unimpressed by Peter and James’ heated discussion about which tinsel-colour would fit their respective outfits best, Remus blindly grabbed two tinsels and stalked back towards the door. “Come on, they’re starting without us!”

Without waiting for their responses, he made his way back downstairs, careful not to slip in his socks. With each step the music got louder and the sounds more distinct.

“…down and feeling blue! And I don’t know what to do, oh-oh!”

Apparently, Dorcas had joined the other girls, her somewhat deeper voice easily detectable.

“Ring, ring, why don’t you give me a call?”

Just when Remus reached the landing, Sirius decided to scream along with the other girls, his “ring, ring” a little unsynchronised from the music since he didn’t know the song yet.

“Ring, ring, the happiest sound of them all!”

Remus tilted his head with a smile and mustered his friend, who was jumping up and down next to Lily on the sofa in a band t-shirt and a puffy petticoat that Alice and Marlene must have brought him.

“Ring, ring, I stare at the phone on the wall…”

Briefly, Remus wondered how many people in the room actually knew what a phone was, when two bodies suddenly bumped into his back. “Uff.”

“Sorry, mate!” Quickly, James and Peter pulled him back on his feet.

“And I sit all alone impatiently, won’t you please understand the need in me-”

“Remus!” Sirius had stopped jumping and was now hanging over the back of the sofa with a blinding smile. “Come here. Sing with us!”

“Over my dead body,” Remus murmured but walked over to him.

“Same,” Peter muttered behind him, while James happily launched himself at the sofa and into the next “ring, ring” – very loudly and very out of tune. 

Once Remus was in reach, Sirius grabbed his arm and pulled him to the place next to him as if he wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t chicken out. Awkwardly, Remus slid over the backrest of the sofa, trying to avoid getting hit by James and Lily’s flailing limbs.

Meanwhile, Alice had dragged Peter onto another sofa. With Peter’s getup and Alice’s ankle-long skirt and the bedsheet wrapped around her shoulders like a cape, they almost looked like a weird version of a heroine and a villain in one of the muggle comics that Marlene had become so obsessed with.

Opposite them, the girl in question was currently pulling off her knitted, glittery cap, which matched her puffy blue trousers, and pulled it over Dorcas’ hair. Dorcas, who was still dressed in her school uniform, swayed a little closer and gave her a thankful smile.

Remus averted his gaze and looked up at Lily, whose behind was dangerously close to his face and clad in shorts as red as her hair as she was bouncing up and down with James. Remus cleared his throat and leaned closer to Sirius.

“It’s a song about wanting a message from someone who’s ignoring you,” Sirius explained earnestly. “Did you know that?”

Carefully, Remus listened to their friends’ singing.

“Was it me or was it you? Tell me, are we really through?”

“No,” Remus gave him a soft smile and draped the tinsels around his neck. They were gold and silver. “But sounds about right.”

“Won’t you hear me cry and you will know that my heart is breaking…”

Sirius bit his lip and ducked his head, long dark eyelashes fanning over pale skin. “Hey.” Gently, Remus put a finger under his chin and forced him to look back up again. “It’s not your fault…you know that, right?”

Sirius took a shaky breath, his eyes shifting to a point above Remus’ head. Without warning, he suddenly leaned forward and crawled underneath Remus’ jumper. Awkwardly, Remus wrapped his arms around him, unsure if he wanted a hug or something.

Sirius’ head peeked out on the other side, all of a sudden very, very close to Remus’. They _fit_, of course, - the jumper was _huge _after all – but it was still a bit weird and unexpected.

Sirius blinked at him, his eyes vulnerable and unreadable at the same time. Suddenly, Remus felt the faint brush of lips on his cheek. Softly. But as soon as the touch was gone, his skin seemed to burn in the place where it had been.

“Mistletoe,” Sirius whispered so quietly that Remus probably wouldn’t have heard him if their proximity hadn’t been so close. Before Remus had time to react, Sirius slipped out of the jumper again.

_It’s June_, he thought distantly.

“Let’s form a queue!” Lily exclaimed, completely startling Remus. He spun around and watched her jump off the sofa with James immediately following her lead.

“Yes!” Marlene, Alice and Sirius responded enthusiastically from several sides.

Quickly, Marlene grabbed Dorcas’ hand and pulled her down from the sofa to get in line in front of Lily and James. Remus could feel someone grabbing his arm and tugging him upwards.

“Come ooon!”

Remus stumbled after Sirius and put his hands on his shoulders as he could see the others doing. He felt a pair of hands settle on his own shoulders.

“Ring, ring!” The girls and half of the Marauders started singing at the top of their lungs while Marlene pulled their little people-train forward. “Why don’t you give me a call?”

They all hopped around the sitting area, probably looking and acting like total lunatics. Remus couldn’t help but grin. Even if he refused to sing – he had to admit that he was enjoying himself.

“Ring, ring!” Alice screamed into Remus’ ear from behind. “The happiest sound of them all.”

In front of him, Sirius threw his head back laughing, loud and carefree. His face radiated pure joy. Remus smiled at the sight. He had missed it.

“Ring, ring, I stare at the phone on the wall!”

Sirius and James split off from the queue again and climbed back onto the sofa. They leaned back-to-back on each other, heads rested on their shoulders, pretending to sing into invisible microphones. “And I sit all alone impatiently - Won’t you please understand the need in me!”

Alice and Lily threw their arms around Remus and roped him into a bouncing circle with Peter, Marlene and Dorcas.

“So, ring, ring, why don’t you give me a call?”

Lily released her grip on Remus and ran over to Sirius and James, who quickly pulled her onto the sofa with them. Once she had found her footing again, Lily turned towards Sirius and grabbed his hands. Graciously, James dropped into the cushions and let Lily take his place.

Remus joined James, a little out of breath from all the jumping around, while Lily and Sirius screamed their frustration with their siblings into each other’s faces. “Oh-oh, ring, ring, why don’t you give me a call?”

Slowly, the music started to fade. Dorcas and Marlene fell onto the next sofa in a tangle of limps while Alice simply dropped down on the floor and put her feet up. Peter wandered over to them and sat down on the armrest next to James.

Lily and Sirius jumped around some more, relishing the moment until the song cut off for good. When only their panting filled the room, Sirius threw his arm around the red-haired girl, grinning widely, and they toppled onto the cushions as well.

“That…” Sirius declared gasping for air while he turned around in her arms until he was staring at the ceiling. “…was fucking amazing. You are a genius, Lily Evans.”

Lily laughed and untangled some curls on his head, which was resting against her upper body. Sirius leaned into the touch and kicked out his leg to put them in Remus’ lap. “Who was that?”

A new melody started playing softly, making the entire room feel warm and cosy. Remus untied the shoelaces of Sirius’ boots and pulled them off. It probably was futile at his point, but Sirius loved the attention. Immediately, he wriggled his feet until Remus started rubbing them.

“ABBA.” Lily explained and dutifully buried her fingers in Sirius’ hair. “One of my friends from primary school has relatives in Sweden and they are a pretty big deal there. I only have their first album but they already released another one and a few months ago they won this huge muggle competition, the Eurovision Song Contest, with the title track – so they are blowing up here, too.”

“Hm,” Sirius said thoughtfully, with a glimmer in his eyes which told Remus that his mind was running a mile a minute. “What’s it called?”

“Waterloo.”

Sirius shot upright so fast that he nearly kicked Remus in the face. He stared at Lily in awe. “They dedicated an entire record to some weird muggle_ loo_? We’re writing to your Sweden-friend right now!”

Before anybody could correct him, he jumped to his feet and dragged a dumbfounded Lily to the portrait hole. He didn’t even bother to put his shoes back on.

“I think that’s a place in Belgium!” Remus called after them weakly, but they were already out of earshot. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling, unable to stop a smile spreading on his face. Seemed like the craziness had returned.

//

**Author's Note:**

> If you leave a comment, I'm always happy to read them :)
> 
> The next part is probably going to be centered around the song "Waterloo"...


End file.
